FARMING with your FEET on the EARTH

Walk-Behind Tractors for small-scale Farming

Joel Dufour, Earth Tools Inc.

What the heck is a walk-behind tractor??

• A Walk-behind tractor is a motorized 2-wheel power source capable of operating many different implements.

• By definition, a true Walk-behind tractor should be built with the same quality of construction as a 4-wheel farm tractor, utilizing hardened steel all-gear drive, automotive clutch, ball bearings supporting all shafts and oil-enclosed gearboxes for very long service life.

• Also by definition, Walk-behind tractors have similar versatility to their 4-wheel counterparts, being able to operate a WIDE VARIETY of easily interchangeableimplements useful for agricultural work.

What ISN’T it??• It is NOT a typical piece of “Lawn & Garden” equipment”,

although it is the same physical size and can be used for lawn & garden purposes.

• It is NOT just “an expensive roto-tiller”.• It is NOT a “disposable” piece of equipment, like most

everything in the “lawn & garden” equipment market.• It is NOT an “exotic” piece of equipment that is hard to

repair or that you will never find parts for. Over 100 Countries worldwide rely on these machines for efficient small farm use and many reputable brands have increasing global market penetration.

Don’t confuse them:Walk-behind tractors Walk-behind Tiller & Mower

HISTORY• Walk-behind tractors started appearing around the

1920s and ‘30s as a mechanized alternative to “hoofed” (animal) power for pulling small farm implements.

• By the 1940s, there were many companies producing these machines, both in the USA and Europe.

• After WWII, Italy began an ambitious program to “modernize” it’s small-scale farms and make them more efficient through mechanization, and government assistance was offered to farmers purchasing these machines.

• Because of the continued relative small farm size, popularity of these machines remained high in Europe, while sales here in the USA shrank due to the post-WWII “Big Farms” push by the USDA.

Historic Walk-Behind tractors

Gravely circa 1945 (USA)BCS circa 1943 (Italy)

Grillo Circa 1960 (Italy)Choremaster circa 1947 (USA)

Simplicity circa 1954 (USA)

Simar circa 1939 (Switzerland)

What can they DO??Modern Walk-behind tractors, with the implementsavailable for them, can perform the following (and more):--Mowing (5 implement types) --Root / Potato digger--Soil-working (11 implement types) --Furrower / Ridger--Rake / Ted hay --Dozer / scraper blades--Bale Hay --Electrical Generator--Wrap Bales for Silage/Haylage --Wood splitter--Haulage (3 implement types) --Fertilizer/Lime spreader--Chip / Shred / Power compost --Plastic Mulch Layer--Snow removal (3 implement types) --Pressure washer --Sprayer --Seeders (2 types)--Raised Bed former --Crimper/Roller(for cover crop)

--Stump Grinder --Water Pump

Versatile by DesignEuropean walk-behind tractors evolved a unique feature in the 1960s: REVERSIBLE

HANDLEBARS. This innovation allowed the PTO of the tractor to be available on the front OR rear of the tractor, depending on the position of the handlebars. Soil-working implements work best on the rear, of course (so you don’t leave tire tracks in a worked bed), while mowing, snow removal and most other implements work better on the front, so the implements get to the “work” before the wheels make tracks in the grass, snow, etc.

On modern European walk-behinds, reversing the handlebars takes under a minute.

(FILL-IN-THE-BLANK IMPLEMENT)

BCS w. Reversible Moldboard Plow & steel tracks

Brumi w. tiller & headlights

Agria w. sickle bar mowing reedsGrillo w. Rotary Plow

BCS w. brush mower Agria w. baler baling reeds in swamp

BCS with sprayerGrillo w. Flail Mower

Why use a Walk-behind?• Much more economical for small / mirco

farms• Much less space needed for maneuvering• Much safer on steep slopes• More fuel efficient…essentially a walk-

behind tractor is an implement with an engine and wheels, you’re not driving a ton (or more) of steel around the field.

• Simpler & cheaper to maintain / repair

EconomicsA Walk-behind tractor and implements typically costs about

a third of what a new compact tractor with the same implements costs.

Example 1: Compact tractor, Hay mower, Hay-rake, Tedder, Hay-baler: ABOUT $40,000.00

Walk-behind tractor, hay mower, hay-rake/tedder, Hay-baler: ABOUT $16,000.00

Example 2: Compact tractor, plow, tiller, flail mower: ABOUT $20,000.00

Walk-behind tractor, Rotary plow, tiller, flail mower:ABOUT $7,000.00

ManeuveringA four-wheel tractor has a turning radius usually equal to 2

or 3 times (or more) the length of the tractor.A Walk-behind tractor has a turning radius of it’s own

length, period.

How much more production can YOU get out of an acre if you don’t have to leave room for a 4-wheel tractor to turn around?

Basing your operation on a walk-behind allows you to eliminate wasted space and pack a LOT more crops into a small plot, resulting in less space for weeds to grow, resulting in less weeding….making your whole operation more efficient.

Did we mention Slopes?

You gonna try that with your Kubota?

Rapid brand walk-behind tractor with sickle bar mower and steel wheels in the Swiss Alps

WALKING TRACTORS IN THE FAR EAST

China and India are also major producers of walk-behind tractors, and to a lesser extent, Japan,

Korea, Taiwan, etc. Again, the vast amounts of small farms in these countries make the walk-behind

tractor eminently practical. However, most of the machines produced in those countries are relatively

crude when compared to the European walk-behinds…mostly employing belt-drives, WITHOUT

reversible handlebars, and usually not adaptable to a very wide range of implements at all. Moreover,

the Asian machines are fitted with crude engines that do not pass EPA emissions restrictions, so they

cannot legally be imported to North America.

MORE PICTURES OF WALKING TRACTORS IN THE FAR EAST

Back at home: INSIDE GREENHOUSES / HIGH TUNNELS

BEDSHAPER

PLASTIC MULCH LAYER

Raised bed

Flat bed

Tractor equipped with axle

extensions to straddle

bed

COVER CROP MANAGEMENT

CRIMPER-ROLLER FLAIL MOWER

POPULAR TILLAGE OPTIONS

ROTARY PLOW POWER

HARROW

TILLER MANUAL TOOLS (Cultivators, Moldboard plows, Ripper, Disk

Harrow, etc.

Fuel use

• Gas walk-behind tractors run anywhere from 1.5 to 4 hours on a gallon of gas, depending on load

• Diesel walk-behind tractors run anywhere from 3 to 8 hours on a gallon of fuel, depending on load

Maintenance costRepair costs on walk-behind tractors typically cost a

fraction of similar repairs on four-wheel tractors, and can also be performed by the owner without specialized equipment (engine hoists, etc.)

Most walk-behind tractors are built without com-plicated hydraulic or electrical systems, and the tractors and implements can be maintained with relatively rudimentary mechanical skills. Replacement of a standard clutch, for example, takes only about 20 to 40 minutes on a walk-behind, as compared to half a day on a four-wheel tractor.

(BCS’s new hydro-mechanical clutch is an exception to this)

Not to mention…..• Virtually no soil compaction.

• Hauls easily in a truck or smaller vehicle (I have hauled a 12hp tractor, tiller and brush mower in a Honda Civic Wagon).

• Using this stuff is GREAT EXERCISE!! (There is a reason the average

European is in better shape than the average American…they WALK more!)

What WON’T a walk-behind do?

• It won’t operate a front loader

• It won’t run a post-hole digger

• It has limited tractive power (that is, it doesn’t weigh much, and therefore has limited traction to push/pull stuff)

• It won’t make lunch (unless you count helping grow it)

Scale-AppropriateThere is no doubt that Walk-behind tractors are not appropriate for ALL farms or properties…for example: to try to mow 50 acres or till 10 acres with one is unreasonable. However, they offer an extremely size-appropriate alternative for small farms, especially when terrain is rough and/or plot sizes are small.

They also are used commonly to compliment four-wheel tractors on larger farms; there’s always something that needs to be done on a farm in a place a “regular” tractor can’t go!!

Joel’s Philosophy

(Joel talks [more]: Blah, blah, blah)

The End